Hand-operated squeezable eye washer

ABSTRACT

A portable eye washer is described including a bladder, which may be disposable, filled with an eye-washing solution such as water or a solution specially-designed for cleaning eyes. The bladder may be made of rubber, a thin plastic, or other material so long as the bladder material is generally not permeable to the eye washing solution.

STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,365,filed Apr. 14, 2006, entitled “Hand-Operated Squeezable Eye Washer”,which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to portable eye washers for use in cleansing eyesin situations where undesired material or fluids impinge on an eye.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In various environments, such as chemistry labs, workshops of varioustypes, and other dangerous workplaces, materials or fluids mayundesiredly impinge on the eye. For example, in a wood shop, woodshavings may be thrown off of motorized saws and impinge on the eye,especially when the operator fails to wear appropriate safety eyewear.In chemistry labs or other workplaces where chemicals are manipulated,occasional splashing of fluids may also result in fluid impingement onan operator's eyes.

Prior eye washing devices are typically in the nature of modifiedfaucets. Such devices often have two nozzles facing substantially upwardor along a curve curving substantially upward and separated by about thedistance between a typical operator's eyes. But these devices are notportable as they require a piped water supply.

Other such devices employ cup-and-fluid-container combinations where eyewashing fluid is provided with a cup that is specially designed for eyewashing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in one aspect, is directed to a portable eyewasher including a bladder, which may be disposable, filled with aneye-washing solution such as water or a solution specially-designed forcleaning eyes. The bladder may be made of rubber, a thin plastic, orother material so long as the bladder material is generally notpermeable to water.

Integral with or attached to the bladder are at least two nozzles.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The bladder may be disposable More than one nozzle may bedisposed on the bladder to accommodate operators with vastly differingdistances between their eyes. For example, a child and an adult may usethe same portable eye-washing device.

In one aspect, the invention is directed to a device for washing eyes,including a bladder having sufficient flexibility such that whensqueezed can compress to increase the pressure on contents within thebladder, and at least two nozzles in pressure communication with thebladder, each nozzle having at least one discharge hole defined therein,such that when the bladder is squeezed a sufficient amount, and thepressure on the contents of the bladder thus subsequently increased asufficient amount, at least a portion of the contents of the bladder areforced through the discharge holes. The at least two nozzles areconfigured such that a portion of the contents of the bladder, whenforced through the discharge holes, are between about 5 and 15centimeters apart at a distance of between about 1 and 30 centimetersfrom the discharge holes.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The bladder and/or nozzles may be made of a rubber-based,plastic, or polymer-based material. The discharge holes may have adiameter of between about 0.1 and 2 mm. The nozzles may be configured tobe substantially closed when the pressure within the bladder is below apredetermined maximum and to be substantially open when the pressurewithin the bladder is above the predetermined maximum. The nozzles mayfurther comprise a cover, where the cover is configured to besubstantially closed when the pressure within the bladder is below apredetermined maximum and substantially open when the pressure withinthe bladder is above the predetermined maximum. The cover may also be abreakaway cover, where the cover is configured to break away when thepressure within the bladder exceeds a predetermined maximum. Thebreakaway cover may be affixed to the nozzle along a portion of itscircumference such that the breakaway cover remains affixed to thenozzle at a location adjacent the discharge hole following itsbreakaway. The portion of its circumference may be less than 180 degreesof circumference. An eye wash solution may be disposed in the bladder,such as a water-based solution, water, or a saline-based solution.

In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for making aportable eye wash device, including forming a hollow bladder; forming ormounting at least two nozzles in pressure communication with the hollowbladder; filling the hollow bladder with an eye wash solution; such thatwhen the bladder is squeezed a sufficient amount, and the pressure onthe eye wash solution in the bladder subsequently increased a sufficientamount, at least a portion of the eye wash solution in the bladder isforced through the discharge holes; and such that the at least twonozzles are configured such that a portion of the eye wash solution inthe bladder, when forced through the discharge holes, is between about 5and 15 centimeters apart at a distance of between about 1 and 30centimeters from the discharge holes.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The eye wash solution may be selected from the groupconsisting of water-based solutions, water, and saline solutions. Themethod may further comprise mounting a breakaway cover on the nozzles,substantially closing off the discharge holes, until removal of thebreakaway cover occurs. The method may further comprise affixedlyattaching the breakaway cover along a portion of its circumference tothe nozzle such that the breakaway cover remains attached to the nozzlefollowing removal from covering the discharge hole.

Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following.Certain embodiments are portable and easy-to-operate. The fluid pressureimpinging on the operator's eyes is conveniently controllable by theuser. The device may be refillable or may be completely disposable forsterility. Other advantages and features of the invention may be seen byreference to the below description, including the figures and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It isemphasized that, according to common practice, the various features ofthe drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of thevarious features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.Included in the drawings are the following figures:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a portableeye-washing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a portableeye-washing device according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3(A) and (B) show side schematic view of nozzle structuresaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the subject devices, systems and methods are described, it is tobe understood that this invention is not limited to particularembodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to belimiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited onlyby the appended claims.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that eachintervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lowerlimits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Each smaller rangebetween any stated value or intervening value in a stated range and anyother stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassedwithin the invention. The upper and lower limits of these smaller rangesmay independently be included or excluded in the range, and each rangewhere either, neither or both limits are included in the smaller rangesis also encompassed within the invention, subject to any specificallyexcluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes oneor both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those includedlimits are also included in the invention.

All publications mentioned herein are incorporated herein by referenceto disclose and describe the methods and/or materials in connection withwhich the publications are cited. The publications discussed herein areprovided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of thepresent application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admissionthat the present invention is not entitled to antedate such publicationby virtue of prior invention. Further, the dates of publication providedmay be different from the actual publication dates which may need to beindependently confirmed.

In the following description, the term “pressure communication” is usedto describe a situation between two points in a flow or in a standingfluid. If pressure is applied at one point, the second point willeventually feel effects of the pressure if the two points are inpressure communication. Any number of valves or elements may be disposedbetween the two points, and the two points may still be in pressurecommunication if the above test is met. For example, for a standingfluid in a pipe, any number of pipe fittings may be disposed between twopipes and, so long as an open path is maintained, points in therespective pipes may still be in pressure communication.

The present invention will now be described in greater detail by way ofthe following description of exemplary embodiments and variations of thesystems and methods of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, aportable eye-washing device 10 is shown having a bladder 11 and nozzles12 and 12′. The bladder 11 may be made of, e.g., rubber, thin plastic,or any other flexible material that is relatively impermeable to liquidsat normal pressures. The bladder should be flexible enough to be easilysqueezed by the operator so as to cause the eye-washing fluid within todischarge from the nozzles 12 and 12′.

The nozzles 12 and 12′ may be formed integral with the bladder 11 or maybe mounted thereon. For example, the nozzles 12 and 12′ may be made ofthe same rubber constituting the bladder. The nozzles 12 and 12′ shouldbe separated and angled such that flows of liquid discharging therefromare separated by about the distance of the operator's eyes. The nozzlesare formed with discharge holes 15 at their upper extremity, and thediameter of the discharge holes may be chosen such that the resultantdischarge stream, given the pressure of a typical operator's squeeze,results in an appropriate force and stream width for the eye washsolution. Without the force of a typical operator's squeeze, thedischarge hole may close on itself without additional force due to theresilient material constituting the nozzle.

Any type of eye washing liquid may be employed, including water, salinesolutions, eye moisturizers, and others as are known, with the onlyrequirement being that the liquid be chosen such that it does notadversely react with the material of the bladder.

In a related embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, a device 20 has greater thantwo nozzles, e.g., nozzles 22, 22′, and 32′, which are disposed on abladder 21. Generally the multiple nozzles may be aligned along a singleline. In this embodiment, operators having differing distances betweentheir eyes may be accommodated. The unused nozzles may be prevented fromdischarging by the operator squeezing the unused nozzles so that fluidcannot discharge from the same.

In the above embodiments, the bladder need not be completely filled withthe eye-washing fluid. Rather, the force of the operator squeezing thebladder impels the fluid out of the nozzles. In an alternativeembodiment, shown in FIG. 3, the portable eye-washing device may bedisposed such that fluid is even more readily available to discharge outof the device. In this embodiment, the bladder may be substantiallyfilled with the eye-washing fluid. Referring to FIG. 3(A), a cover 46 isdisposed over a discharge portion 44 of a nozzle 42 so that the fluiddoes not inadvertently discharge from the nozzles before desired. Thecover may be a thin rubber coating over the discharge hole of thenozzle. The cover may be a breakaway cover. In particular, the cover maybe such that the area of the cover directly over the nozzle's dischargehole may be made especially thin so that operator force on the bladderincreases the pressure impinging on the thin area of the cover to avalue greater than that required to cause a hole to form in the thinarea of the cover. After a hole is formed, the resulting hole forms itsown nozzle action on the fluid discharging from the bladder. In otherwords, the fluid sprays forth from the resulting hole in such as way asto cleanse the eyes of the operator. In a related embodiment, shown inFIG. 3(B), a cover 46′ is disposed over a discharge portion 44′ of anozzle 42′ so that the fluid does not inadvertently discharge from thenozzles before desired. The cover 46′ is bonded strongly on one side viabond 48, so that when the cover breaks away, the cover 46′ continues tobe attached on one side. This embodiment has the advantage that no partof the cover may accidentally fly up into the operator's eyes.

While the device may often be disposable, a valve 17 may be disposed toallow the same to be refilled.

While the device and method have been described largely in the contextof emergency eye treatments, it should be noted that the device may beused for general eye cleaning, such as is desired, e.g., followingcontact lens removal, etc.

Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein areprincipally intended to aid the reader in understanding the principlesof the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, allstatements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of theinvention as well as specific examples thereof, are intended toencompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof.Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the fixture,i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardlessof structure. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is notintended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and describedherein. Rather, the scope and spirit of present invention is embodied bythe appended claims.

1. A device for washing eyes, comprising: a. a bladder having sufficientflexibility such that when squeezed can compress to increase thepressure on contents within the bladder; and b. at least two nozzles inpressure communication with the bladder, each nozzle having at least onedischarge hole defined therein, such that when the bladder is squeezed asufficient amount, and the pressure on the contents of the bladdersubsequently increased a sufficient amount, at least a portion of thecontents of the bladder are forced through the discharge holes.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the bladder is made of a rubber-basedmaterial.
 3. The device of claim 11, wherein the nozzles are made of arubber-based material.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the bladder andnozzles are made of a plastic material.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the bladder and nozzles are made of polymer-based materials. 6.The device of claim 1, wherein the discharge holes have a diameter ofbetween about 0.1 and 2 mm.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein thenozzles are configured to be substantially closed when the pressurewithin the bladder is below a predetermined maximum and to besubstantially open when the pressure within the bladder is above thepredetermined maximum.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the nozzlesfurther comprise a cover, and wherein the cover is configured to besubstantially closed when the pressure within the bladder is below apredetermined maximum and to be substantially open when the pressurewithin the bladder is above the predetermined maximum.
 9. The device ofclaim 8, wherein the cover is a breakaway cover, and wherein the coveris configured to break away when the pressure within the bladder exceedsa predetermined maximum.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein thebreakaway cover is affixed to the nozzle along a portion of itscircumference such that the breakaway cover remains affixed to thenozzle at a location adjacent the discharge hole following itsbreakaway.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the portion of itscircumference is less than 180 degrees of circumference.
 12. The deviceof claim 1, further comprising an eye wash solution disposed in thebladder.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the eye wash solution isselected from the group consisting of water-based solutions, water, andsaline solutions.
 14. A method for making a portable eye wash device,comprising: a. forming a hollow bladder; b. forming at least two nozzlesin pressure communication with the hollow bladder; c. filling the hollowbladder with an eye wash solution; d. such that when the bladder issqueezed a sufficient amount, and the pressure on the eye wash solutionin the bladder subsequently increased a sufficient amount, at least aportion of the eye wash solution in the bladder is forced through thedischarge holes.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the eye washsolution is selected from the group consisting of water-based solutions,water, and saline solutions.
 16. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising mounting a breakaway cover on the nozzles, substantiallyclosing off the discharge holes, until removal of the breakaway coveroccurs.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising affixedlyattaching the breakaway cover along a portion of its circumference tothe nozzle such that the breakaway cover remains attached to the nozzlefollowing removal from covering the discharge hole.
 18. A method formaking a portable eye wash device, comprising: a. forming a hollowbladder; b. mounting at least two nozzles on the hollow bladder suchthat the at least two nozzles are in pressure communication with thehollow bladder; c. filling the hollow bladder with an eye wash solution;d. such that when the bladder is squeezed a sufficient amount, and thepressure on the eye wash solution in the bladder subsequently increaseda sufficient amount, at least a portion of the eye wash solution in thebladder is forced through the discharge holes.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein the eye wash solution is selected from the group consistingof water-based solutions, water, and saline solutions.
 20. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising mounting a breakaway cover on the nozzles,substantially closing off the discharge holes, until removal of thebreakaway cover occurs.